Facebook announced a number of changes and initiatives this week, including a program to reward developers who drive sales using Credits among European users.

European incentive program begins – Facebook will give developers who drive more than US$100,000 in sales to European customers in a given quarter will be rewarded with an additional 3 percent related to those sales. The program will take into account payments beween Jan. 1 and March 31. Facebook says the program will be evaluated quarterly and may or may not be renewed.

Last year 15 million users bought virtual goods using Facebook Credits. The company did not break down the demographics of paying users, but this new program suggests Europe might be underrepresented.

Platform policies updated – Facebook removed its policy prohibiting page tab applications from hosting media that played automatically. This change comes following the announcement that pages will not be able to designate a custom landing tab once they convert to Timeline.

Facebook also revised its mobile web app policy to make it clear that web apps running within a Facebook iOS app may only use iOS-approved payment methods. These apps may not reference, use or otherwise encourage use of Facebook Credits and other non-iOS payment methods. The company also reminded developers that they must comply with the Video Privacy Protection Act and obtain any opt-in consent necessary from users so that user data subject to the VPPA may be shared on Facebook.

New online course for developers – Facebook partnered with Pluralsight to provide an online course for developers new to the platform. The course goes over the main components of the platform, provides code samples and other tips for building Facebook apps.

App profile pages removed – As previously announced, Facebook removed all app profile pages this week. The pages now redirect to the application canvas page. Developers can create fan pages for their apps if they want a place for a community to grow.